"BETH DIN."

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6120, 5 March 1898, Page 6

"BETH DIN."

LONDON'S COURT OF KING £OLOMON. [Bt J. Malcolm Fraseb.] {Pearson's Magazine.) The Jews are the people who have observed legal rectitude with the greatest religious fervour. This trait, moreover, has, despite the wandering tribes' many vicissitudes, remained with them to this day, and it is to this that we may ascribe their desire to be judged according to the ancient laws of their faith, and to submit their quarrels and disputes to the arbitration of their religious head and Chief Rabbi, the Eev Dr Hermann Adlor. Hidden away in a corner of Sfc James's Place — a cul de sac in the East End of London — stands a curious old red brick building, the largo open door of which conceals the quaintest and most impressive fragment of King Solomon's wisdom that it is possible to imagine. There it is that the, Jews of England bring their numerous troubles "and grievances to be decided according to the laws that have held their ,sway for the last five thousand years — laws, which, even to this day, are powerful enough and just enough to bind one of this earth's most emotional people. Twice a week Dr Adler, in conjunction with his two accessors, or, to be more correct, Dayanim, holds a court at which everything relating to the Jewish laws is settled free of charge. This court is called the " Beth Din," which, being translated, means, " House of Judgment," and is one of the many that are held in all parts of the world where the Jews have settled. These Courts found their origin with Moses, and were instituted at the suggestion of his father-in-law, Jethro, who, seeing that his son was overworked, commanded him to " choose able men out of Israel, and make them heads over the people — the rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens." The courts which were presided over by these rulers were governed and conducted in much the same manner as the one which is now presided over by the Chief Eabbi and his-able accessors, the Rev Bernard Spiers, AN EMINENT AUTHORITY on Talmudic and Rabbinic matters — and the Rev Susman Cohen. In a large room on the first floor, those seeking advice and judgment assemble — sometimes to the number of two hundred — in a comfortable waiting-room, there to think over their complaints and excuses before a cheerful fire. The doorkeeper takes down their names and respective charges, and then proceeds to usher them, iii their proper turn, before the court sitting upstairs. To this court-room you go, and there find the reverend doctor seated in the centre, supported on either side by his two colleagues. Jurors, counsel and warders are conspicuous by their absence, while the solemn silence of the room occupied by these patriarchal fathers gradually blots out the modem effects and leaves before the mind's eye a reminiscent vision of the robed priests who, years ago, dispensed justice under similar laws to those under which it is now being dispensed. Soon your reverie is disturbed by the entrance of the disputants. Unconsciously you endeavour to exclude the sounds that bring you once more to times more modern, but, checking the notion, you listen. No unnecessary noise is made — the evidence is heard, the defence is made, the litigants retire, the judges consult, and, in an incredibly short time, the decision is given. Everything is carried on with as much harmony and decorum as possible; there are no" spicy " details indulged in, and as each and all disputes are heard in camera, no one goes to the Beth Din otherwise than ON THE STBICTESr "BUSINESS." Where does this " business " begin and where does it end ? one is tempted to inquire. The answer is comprehensive enough. Anything and everything lies in the jurisdiction of this court, provided that it be not criminal. Religious and ritual questions are settled, dietary laws explained, slayers of meat examined, and butchers licensed. The supervisors of the Passover bread are appointed, and, in fact, any case from debt to breach of promise, fromassaultto libel and slander, is adjudicated upon. , . , . . In the case of complaints from wives and husbands, every endeavour is made to propitiate the opposing parties, especially if the husband lodges the complaint, for as Dr Adler told me: "During my many years of office as Av Beth Din (leather of the House of Judgment) I have, with few Bxceptions, found that the maxim given in jut Code is only too true: 'That when tiusband and wife quarrel, the husband is in the wrong.' " So bewildering, indeed, is the variety of jases tried, that it is impossible to here relate one-fifth of the kindly offices which ;he court undertakes. Viewed from the Government standpoint, however, one of ;he most useful is the taking in hand of fewish emigrants to this country. Were it not for this court, the East End nagistrates would find a great difficulty in mderstanding and settling the disputes of ;hese foreigners, who can speak no other angnage but their own. To save time'and noney, therefore, their cases are handed >ver to the Beth Din, and as Dr Adler is a jreat linguist himself, he can, with the issistance of the Rev Susman Cohen, who jy-the-way, is a Russian, and understands ill the Polish patois, settle any dißtmta rith more expedition than an. English

nagistrate might reasonably be expected ■o do with . r ; _ :v ..^ </ ,.,., W6r , 1 .. ' THE AID OF AN rSTBBPRBTBR. — As an instance of one of the minor good iffices performed by this court, I may menion the case of a wife who thought that he club took up too much of her husband's ime, and 'that in view of a rainy day it rouldbe well were her " lord and master " o consider the subject of economy. The acts were laid before the court, with the •esult that a little kindly advice had the iffect of sending both the wife and the irring husband home — the former happy, ;he latter penitent. All cases are fortunately, are not thus sasily nor thus'lightly settled. Some two rears ago ' the Chief Rabbi was called upon :o arbitrate on a breach of promise case, at ;he conclusion of which he awarded the roung . woman damages amounting to learly one hundred pounds. Although the young man agreed at the . tame to abide by the decision of the court/ tie was afterwards influenced by the evil ; jounsels of hiß friends to refuse payment. ' [n due time, the case came before 'the County Court for settlement. Again, the poung lady's damages were assessed at nearly one hundred pounds, while in addiction to this the expenses cost the recalcitrant lover i>lso. In connection with this case, one of the moßt important and at the same time most, interesting points about the Beth Din may be mentioned. Though the Beth Din gives Buch weighty verdicts, its decisions are not legal, and as such cannot be enforced. Indeed, the • only thing the litigants havo to do is to sign a paper stal.jg that they are willing to abide by the judgment given. But bo fair, so honourable, and so perfectly just are these verdicts that over 95 per cent of them are accepted as final, and are, moreover, OBSERVED TO THE VERT LETTER. Prominent among the specialities of this court is the licensing of Jewish butchers and the granting permission to slay animals for food. As is well known, the precepts of the Hebraic religion appertaining tp food are extremely precise and stringent; and, so far as the meat is concerned, these • precepts require that the arterial blood .. should be drawn off as quickly as possible, and that the animal whose flesh is to be consumed should be healthy and should' ' suffer no unnecessary pain. In view of these facts, it is prescribed ■ that those who purpose becoming butchers should undergo a protracted course of study, and should, on completion of this, course of anatomical learning, be examined as to their capabilities in preparing the knife for the work. The Beth . Din, therefore, examines these aspiring slayers, and times without number will they be turned away because the Court has found, on examination, that they do not posßesß the requisite skill. The method of examination is as follows:—The applicant is given a slaughterer's knife, which he must sharpen in such a way that even the trained hand of an expert canaot detect the slightest niok* The knife is then placed before the Chief Rabbi and hiß colleagues, who, each in turn, test its keenness. Should the test prove satisfactory, the applicant is ordered out ot the room, and one of the Dayanim proceeds to touch the tempered edge with a small penknife in two or three places. The aspirant is then recalled, and afyer running his finger once or twice along the edge, is expected to point out > THE EXACT SPOTS WHERE THE KNIFE WAS TOUCHED. Surely this method of examination is rigorous enough in all conscience, and it is small wonder that even the highest authorities proclaim the Jewish method of slaughter to be the most humane and the most painless. A considerable portion of the time is also occupied in receiving the applications of persons desirous of becoming married. No marriage is allowed to be solemnised in any one of the 120 synagogues in the United Kingdom, under the pastoral charge of the Chief Rabbi, without his authorisation having been previously obtained. This, moreover, necessitates, close investigation — more especially in the case of foreigners, whose antecedents are unknown — as to whether any civil or religious impediments to the marriage exist, what the correct names and ages of the parties are, and, in the case of minors, whether the consent of the parents or guardians has been given. But the. principal function of the Court is to tender advice in difficulties of all. kinds. Widows who have lost their breadwinners, and who crave a recommendation to have their children reared in the Jews' Hospital at Norwood; DESERTED WIVES, whose husbands have fied to the "States," not from malice, but in quest of employment; youths who desire an introduction to some employer where they will not be called upon to desecrate' their Sabbath; immigrants who have discovered, with bitter disappointment, that the streets of London are not paved with gold, and who wish to be sent back to their native country, all come. Effective counsel is given to them, and the greater number of the applicants are referred to the active and beneficent Jewish Board of Guardians in Widegate Street. As may well be imagined, the head of such a court must have a thorough knowledge of human nature, a sympathetic bond in common with his f ellowman, and, by no means least important, must be a competent linguist. And Dr Adler poBBesses the latter as well as the former qualifications in an eminent degree. Ever, on the occasion of my. visit to the Beth Din, a large majority of the thirty or forty cases that came, before the oourt were heard in German and various Russian patois.